Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1887-03-16
THE UNIVERSITY.
Turner Explains the Present
Trouble There.

70 ne EitOr gf me Register:
suit is To be regretted that the un-
wise zeal Of the students who have been
sending to the REGISTER and I~nt,HigcRccr
dispatches concerning the suspensions at
the University should have led to such mis-
representations as to call for an authOrita-
tive relutatiUn
Under ordinary circumstances | should
refrain from noticing such communications.
II has been my rule not to dignity Al at
tack unless made by a reputable person
over his own signature. In most eases an
anonymous attack is inspired by malice OF
some other unworthy motive. Truth does
not Skulk in darkness, nUr seek Ia hide
herself behind the irrcspOnS!bjity ot u he
tIUOuS AN
The dispatches in question having been
published in both the Wheeling papers,
and having therefore "a wide publicity ia
the State. 1t seems to be NY duty, IN order
tlat the pubic may know the facts upon
which the action OF the Faculty WAS based,
To make Il statement OF the evidence.
For mans Years il has been more or less
= custom among the students here, as Il Is
10 some extent, perhaps, in most colleges,
to cheat in examinations. This IS done by
writing Out portions OF the subject of eN-
~arninatiOns and bringing them into the
room to be used, il necessary; and also by
the practice OF copying 10y one student
from the examination answers al another
.fudent. To such an extent have these
-. -. -. thnf ASA. ~ H..
ocst students have complained OF 1t rs
being 4 disgrace To the institution. In
iprarr years "a student was occasionally
detected in this dishonest business. but
the punishment inflicted appeared to he
Inadequate to break up the practice.
At a meeting OF the Faculty held just
prior to the examinations last autumn,
this whole subject WAS fully discussed and
active measures were determined on, IN
order, il possible, To uproOt this evil
When the time Came To announce
the schedule Tor examinations, | took
special pains To- make M official public
statement to the young men OF the action
of the Faculty, and OF our Intention TO pnt
4 stop to this practice il possible. They
were also informed, IN words aS plain rs
language could make them, that all
students who should be detected in using
unfair e 10 pass their examination,
would bc severely dealt with.
The fall examinations proceeded, and 81
fan Us is known by the Faculty, were fairly
passed. At any rate, no instances OF
cheating came to II knowledge. The re-
suit was u lower average standing than had
heretofore been made.
The examinations tor the winter term
have Just been completed, Five students
have, thus far, been detected in cheating.
Two Of these were in a class in Latin, two
in English Literature and one in Mathe-
MATES. The evidence in each ot these
cases was such rs TO convince every mem
her of the Faculty present, of the guilt OF
hose who were suspended. In three OF
these cases, the OiIeuSe consisted IN the
copying, by one student, of the answers
written by another to the questions pro-
pounded for examination. They were sus-
pended until the next winter term.
In the case of the fourth, the oiienSe was
bringing into the examination room u writ
ten outline of the subject Tor 4 part OF NJ
and using it to answer the questions. This
Young man fully acknowledged the facts,
and further stated, in answer to a queS-
lion, that he rotri9 rather cheot ant SWececd,
than to be honest and fail. He was suspend
ell for n year.
The fifth man copied fyOm the fourth a
part of his answers, and also confessed that
he bad in his pocket y written memoran-
dunn Of part Of the term work, which was
not, however, included in the examination
questions. lie was suspended until the
next winter term.
The evidence in the other cases was Is
follows:
1t was found, in the papers OF three
members of the intermediate Latin class,
that the translation from English into
Latin lcalled the Latin exercise was,
with the exception of one word, Identical.
Now this would not be surprising, had
they all been correct; though even IN such
a case, it would be quite probable that they
might not all use the same Latin word Tor
a given English word. But the mistakes
we're identical in these papers, with the
exception stated, and were different from
those of any other paper in the class.
Two OF the mistakes consisted in using
words, one of which is not a Latin word at
all, namely, ''gWdSum' used for Qndram),
and the other, ''rictH' used for r%ictGe). 1t
is conceivable that two men might make
the same mistake in gettinga wrong intiec-
ton of a noun or adjective, or the wrong
ending of a verb, with perfect honesty;
but it is hardly conceivable that three men
would make the same blunder in the same
examination, of using a word which IS not
q Latin word in the connection IN which
it is used, and could have no intelligible
meaning. These three men sat near each
other in the examination, one of them on
q chair in the rear of one and TO the side
rear of the other. 1t WAS impossible to
tell, from the papers, who did the copying,
except IRON inference. They were called
before the Faeulty, and their several state
ments were taken. The man who sat in
the chair testified that he wrote his
exercise" first and placed the paper on
the floor near him. The other two testified
' that they wrote the translation from Latin